Rocky Road
by Sk8er Chica
Summary: One of the Rodriguez brothers is having a rough time at home. Can he keep it together or will he lose it?
1. Problems

Disclaimer: Nothing in this fic is mine.

It was a Friday night in Ocean Shores. Sandy Rodriguez was on her way into the kitchen to cook dinner for her family. She spotted a manila envelope lying on the floor of the fireplace. Curiously, she fished it out. With one of her long red nails, she slit the envelope open. She read a few lines of the paper within it and felt color rising in her face. She threw her head back and bellowed, "LARS FELIX RODRIGUEZ!" Lars ambled into the living room with his hands pressed over his ears.

"I'm right here, Ma. You don't have to yell." he griped.

"What this?" questioned Sandy, holding the paper an inch or so from her older son's face.

Lars gulped. The paper was his report card, which happened to contain a failing Spanish grade. In this family, that was the worst subject to get a bad grade in. Raoul and Sandy were very proud of their Hispanic heritage.

"Um..." he said, nervously pulling at the collar of his oversize hockey shirt.

"You got another F in Spanish," raged Sandy. "You swore to me you would pick that grade up."

"I know _some _Spanish," Lars protested.

"Oh, like how to insult people?" Sandy was extremely frustrated with him by now. "Just--just go to your room and don't come out until I say so."

Halfway up the stairs, Lars froze. He heard the telltale whirring and clicking of the scanner. There was little doubt in his mind that his mother was e-mailing the horrific Spanish grade to all their relatives.

A/N: That's chapter one. I'll try to write one like every other day. Reviews much appreciated.


	2. The Plan

Lars lay on his bed, arms folded, scowling at the ceiling. Sandy was being unfair. Flunking Spanish wasn't entirely his fault. If he mispronounced something or used the wrong word, Senora Lopez wouldn't bother to correct him; she just marked him wrong. And all those mistakes had added up. Lars made his worst mistake right before the teachers had to decide on students' final grades for the semester.

Lars had been reading a note Animal had passed to him when Senora Lopez called on him, catching him by surprise. Without thinking, Lars blurted out the first Spanish phrase that came into his head, "_Como ballas, grande trasero_."

This, unfortunately, roughly translated to "eat slugs, large bottom." Senora Lopez (using English) asked Lars to repeat himself.

"_Mi no habla ingles._" (I don't speak English.)

Senora Lopez thought Lars was being a smart aleck and gave him detention. Then Sandy found out and grounded him.

Grades weren't thing Sandy was unfair about. There was also Twister (who by the way flunked just as many subjects as Lars had). Sandy had barely screeched at him for doing poorly in school. Twister never got grounded or yelled at. All he ever got were hugs and kisses. He wasn't even twelve yet, but he already had a cute, caring girlfriend. Girls never looked at Lars twice.

_No one loves me, _Lars thought bitterly, a tear running down his face.

He spotted his hockey bag in the corner of the room and got an idea. Swiftly and silently, Lars gathered up comic books, clothes, a blanket, ect. and stuffed them in the duffel bag. Sandy and Raoul would be happier if he ran away. They could spend more time with Twister. Lars wasn't sure where he could run away to, but at the moment, he didn't. He slung his bag over his shoulder, then dropped out of his bedroom window into the night.


	3. He's Gone!

Lars walked down the street, absentmindedly kicking an old soda can. He came up with another plan. If his mother and father didn't want him around, he could just move in with one of his other relatives. But who? Certainly not Aunt Cliotilda; Lars was allergic to cats. Aunt Rosa and Uncle Franciso, the parents of his cousin Little Scotty? No, that wouldn't work either. Lars didn't want to trade one little brother for another. Besides, Aunt Rosa would just bring him home. Then the answer hit him, Uncle Eduardo.

_He lives in Mexico, so I better get to steppin', _Lars thought.

He didn't stop to think about how far Mexico was from Ocean Shores or the fact that he was flat broke. He was trying to think of a credible story to use on his uncle when he got to Mexico. Meanwhile....

"Lars!" Sandy yelled in the direction of the ceiling. "Dinner is ready! You can come out of your room now!" Getting no answer, she asked, "You aren't going to sulk up there all night, are you?"

Twister got up and walked up the stairs, pausing in front of his brother's door. He had a funny feeling in the pit of stomach, like something was very wrong.

"Lars?" he called. "Are you in there?"

He opened the door slowly. The dirty laundry that was usually all over the floor was gone, so was Lars's comic book collection. His hockey bag was missing too.

"MOM!" Twister bellowed. "I think Lars ran away!"

Raoul and Sandy crashed up the stairs. When Sandy realized it was true, she began sobbing hysterically.

"How could he do this to me?!" she wailed. "I've fed him; I've housed him! I stayed up all night with him when he was sick!"

"I'm sure he didn't get far," said Raoul, his voice a bit shaky. "We can ask the neighbors if they've seen him. We can make some flyers. We'll--we'll find him."

"Maurice," Sandy said firmly, "You stay here in case Lars wanders back home."

She and Raoul talked to all the neighbors. No one had seen him, but Ray Rocket and Violet Stimpleton volunteered to join the search party. With Sam's help, they printed up a batch of flyers with Lars's picture on them, asking anyone who saw him to call Raoul Rodriguez.


	4. Tessy

A/N: Thanks to Silent Whisper for reviewing and mike2000 for helping out with my Spanish. This is just a reposted version of the last chapter...

Lars walked forward, wiping sweat off his forehead. His feet were throbbing; he probably had more than one blister. He was regretting that he hadn't thought to wear socks. Lars sat on the ground to catch his breath. Looking around, he realized this definitely wasn't the way to Mexico. It looked more like the woods near Mondo Mountain. Technically, Lars was lost.

_Just perfect_, he thought angrily.

He jumped, noticing that some nearby bushes were trembling. Lars watched them closely, hoping whatever was lurking in the bushes wasn't dangerous. Very slowly, a fuzzy kitten appeared.

"What do you want?" Lars asked.

The kitten approached and sat on the ground by Lars's sneakers. Lars softened a little bit.

"Are you lost like me?"

The kitten meowed and nudged his hand with its head, asking to be pet. Lars slowly lifted his hand and began to pet the cat, though he knew he was going to regret it later. The kitten began to purr and Lars started to calm down some. He studied the kitten. It had bright green eyes, was a bit on the scrawny side; its fur was a dark brown color....

_Just like gingerbread cookies, _Lars mused, his mouth watering.

The kitten licked his hand. Going home was no longer an option. As much as "the Whompinator" hated to admit it, he liked cats (especially this one), even though they made him sneeze. Sandy wouldn't allow him to keep the kitten because of what happened to Twister's puppy. Another injustice. It wasn't Lars's fault that Twister had let Chico run around outside without a leash.

"I guess I should call you something," Lars said to him/her. "Gingerbread? Nah, too long. Besides, that name makes me hungry. _Cerveza_? Wait, that means beer. Snuggles? No way."

Lars suddenly came up with the perfect name, Tesorito, which meant "treasure" in Spanish. He could call the cat Tessy for short.

Lars took a blanket out of his backpack and spread it on the ground. Tonight, he and Tessy would sleep under the stars. They could start for Mexico in the morning. Lars lay down; Tessy followed him.

"Uh-uh, _chica_," said Lars, depositing Tessy in the grass. "I don't wanna be sneezing all night."

Tessy strolled back over and cuddled next to Lars, who sighed.

"Okay, Tess. You win."


	5. Reunited

Sandy and Raoul hiked through the woods; Raoul scanned the landscape with his flashlight and called Lars's name. He didn't know why Lars would be here, but he had already checked the mall, the pier, and the Ortega movie theater; he was running out of places to look. Sandy was still distressed about Lars's disappearance, though she wasn't sobbing nearly as hard anymore. Raoul paused as he caught sight of a strange silhoulette.

"I see something on that ridge," he hissed. "It looks like something big."

Sandy whimpered, thinking it was a wild animal that had gotten to Lars. Raoul instructed his wife to stay while he investigated. He crept closer to whatever it was lurking on the ridge. The first thing he found was a gray skiing cap. Then he spotted the sleeping form of Lars, curled on his side with a kitten nestled against his stomach.

"SANDY!" he bellowed. "I found Lars!"

Lars groggily lifted his head as his mother came running. Before he knew what was happening, she was hugging him tightly, crying tears of joy. When she was through hugging him, she pinched his ear a little harder than she normally did.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Sandy spat. "Do you understand me, Lars Felix Rodriguez?"

Lars hung his head, trying to look ashamed.

"_Si, Mama_."

Sandy smiled lovingly at her son, who was holding Tessy. She sighed, then muttered, "All right. You can keep the cat."

"I can?" Lars cried happily.

"Yes."

"_Muchas gracias, Mama_."

Raoul picked up the blanket and Lars's backpack and the trio walked back to the clearing Raoul had parked the car in.

"Mom, how come you hug Twister but you don't hug me?" Lars asked after a moment.

"Well, I suppose it's because....Maurice doesn't seem to mind as much as you do. I hope you didn't run away because I don't hug you enough."

"No," Lars said heavily. Now that he thought about it, the reason he'd run away was pretty lame. "I thought no one cared about me. You always yell at me, Dad's always at work, and Twister's always with Rocket or his girlfriend."

"We all love you very much," Sandy assured him.


End file.
